It's often good to follow a particularly explosive, game-changing episode with a bit of a slow burn, and tonight's installment of The Walking Dead — "Say the Word" — was a nice, thought-provoking comedown after last week's devastation. And though I enjoyed the look at senseless violence in Woodbury as well as Andrew Lincoln's chilling performance back at the prison, the episode's high point was clearly the part where Daryl Dixon held, fed, and quieted a screaming baby (though Michonne killing a cage full of Walkers Biters with her boot and her katana was pretty high up there.) The episode spent nearly equal time with the citizens of Woodbury and the bruised and broken residents of Cell Block C, providing some exposition on the former and hope for the future for the latter.
"We're not barbarians," the Governor told Andrea early on in the episode, after a threatened Michonne pulled our her katana. She believed him: because the citizens of Woodbury, at first glance, appeared to be a welcome reminder of what humanity used to be, and (hopefully) could be again. They had block parties, drank iced tea, educated their children, and even wore clean clothing. Families could grow up together without the daily threat of Walker infestation. But at the end of the day, while the Grimes Gang performed C-sections with rusty knives and gave handguns to their children, it was the Woodbury-ites who had officially turned into monsters — like us during a Michael Bay movie, they're totally turned off to violence. Even though Glenn told Hershel he'd kill anyone for the safety of their group, everyone in the Grimes Gang still has a basic respect for human life (which, admittedly, became almost maddening throughout Season 2). They've gotten rid of people who proved to be direct threats to their safety (Michael Raymond James, sniff), just not without hours of discussion and a bit of rational self-hatred. And nobody in the group — not even Shane, when he was still kicking — would be okay with the appalling, barbaric display of senseless violence that Woodbury calls entertainment. Yes, Rick spent most of the episode putting down Walkers while ugly-crying at the same time, but killing them quickly out of grief is a lot different than killing them slowly as a happy spectacle. It's especially disturbing when you remember that all of these people must have lost loved ones to the same disease at some point or another. The Governor swears that it makes them feel safe, but why should they feel safe? They're totally not safe! By numbing them to the danger caused by Walkers/Biters/whatever, he's made the residents of Woodbury completely helpless and dependent on his rule. Genius! But let's back up: Woodbury (well, the Governor) was throwing a block party, undoubtedly to boost an already high general morale. Andrea, just like everyone else in town besides Michonne (and maybe Milton) looked at the Governor like he was Martin Luther King every time he spoke — usually about rebuilding as a community against all odds, or something like that. After months with nothing but Michonne, the flu, and a pair of dead Walkers, she wanted so, so badly to believe it all wasn't too good to be true. But Michonne, ever the practical pessimist, saw right through his genial, Southern Conservative politician exterior to the sociopathic Ted Bundy on the inside. She did some snooping around his house — great for exposition! — and found a notebook full of planned town activities and names, which turned into pages upon pages of identical scribbles after the final name was added to the list — Penny. Penny is, most likely, the Governor's daughter — we saw him creepily brushing her dead hair (and accidentally pulling out clumps of her scalp) minutes before. I'd also bet on her death marking the end of his usefulness as a leader — without someone to really love, he became a man fueled only by his own sick ambitions. Michonne didn't need any more convincing after she saw the cage full of "Biters" on a quiet street — she had retrieved her katana, so it was time to get the Hell out of this f***ed up dodge. But Andrea didn't realize how right she was until it was too late — blondie was horrified by the gladiator show at the end (starring Merle, of course), but it was already too late. She would never make it without Michonne, who was already well on her way to... wherever. TBD. Now compare the horrific numbness to violence in Woodbury to what happened over by the prison, which was a group of people processing the devastation that SHOULD accompany violence. Their first task was to find formula for Lori's newborn, who we found out right away was a girl. (Sophia-Carol-Andrea-Amy-Jackie-Patricia-Lori Grimes, according to Carl.) Rick, who mourned so intensely that he couldn't really be of use or comprehend anything that was going on around him, spent his day running through the cell block like a madman, axing any Walker he could find. In his absence, Daryl took over leadership in a heartbeat, organizing a formula coalition (him and Maggie) and finding emotional support for Carl (Beth) mere minutes after Lori's death. (Daryl's revolution from redneck, to tortured soul who wanted to find Sophia all on his own, to loving member of the group has been delightful to watch. Delightful.) Daryl and Maggie quickly and conveniently found a house that formerly contained children and currently contained formula, leading to a semi-heartbreaking moment where Daryl's eyes paused on a piece of children's "artwork" by a girl named Sofie. This, and a flower placed on "Carol's grave" was the only bit of mourning we saw from him tonight. A lot of this had to do with his personality, but Daryl also knew he had to step up while Rick went on his murderous Walker-rampage. Meanwhile, in the yard, Glenn was tasked with digging Lori, Carol and T-Dog's graves. If this was It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, they'd call this Charlie Work. Glenn has always had to do the Charlie Work, so I was glad when he was able to hand some of it off to newcomers Axel and Oscar. Glenn gave a nice speech to Hershel about the selfless things T-Dog did to help other people during the early days of the zomb-pocalypse, which was good because we never learned anything about T-Dog in three years. Glenn said he'd kill anyone if it meant that it would save one of theirs, which I think, in some way, is similar to how the Governor thinks. Only the Governor doesn't selflessly love a group of people, he loves the idea of a post-pocalypse utopia with himself as an all-powerful but outwardly genial Big Brother figure. Anyone who gets in the way of that gets their head stuffed in a tank. We saw some hope that this group could go on when Daryl came back and made women everywhere swoon by comforting Sophia-Carol-Andrea-Amy-Jackie-Patricia-Lori, while the rest of the gang (minus Rick) looked on. Maybe if Carl sticks with Daryl, he won't grow up to be a serial killer. Which brings us to the end: Rick finally visited Lori's death-spot, where she was suddenly nowhere to be found. We expected to be horrified by Lori's rotting corpse, but what he actually found was about eight zillion times worse: bloody pieces of her remains scattered all over the floor, while an insanely bloated Walker sat nearby, suffering from a post-Super Bowl level food coma. A WALKER ATE LORI. And this, my friends, is where Rick Grimes finally lost it: With eyes deader than Sophia, he shot the Walker in the mouth then repeatedly stabbed his bloated belly (which looked sickeningly like a pregnant stomach) multiple times, like it was the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Lori would suddenly pop out. This ain't that kind of story, Rick. Luckily, we were all saved by the bell — Rick looked like he heard a ghost when the prison phone rang (understandable, since he probably hasn't heard one ring in two years) and picked up. END CREDITS! All in all, another stellar — if slower — episode. Do you think Rick is as deadened to violence as the citizens of Woodbury? Will Andrea escape the Governor's clutches? And who is on that phone — is it that one lady who has power on Revolution? Carol? Ghostface? Sound off in the comments! Follow Shaunna on Twitter @HWShaunna [PHOTO CREDIT: AMC] MORE: 'The Walking Dead' Recap: Killer Within 'The Walking Dead' Recap: Walk With Me 'The Walking Dead' Reminds Us of TV's 17 Most Disgusting Moments — GALLERY

It was the trickle of pee heard around the world. Cannes attendees were aghast and/or amused an infamous scene from The Paperboy that shows Nicole Kidman urinating on Zac Efron; this is apparently a great salve for jellyfish burns which were covering our Ken Doll-like protagonist. (In fact the term protagonist should be used very loosely for Efron's character Jack who is mostly acted upon than active throughout.)
Lurid! Sexy! Perverse! Trashy! Whether or not it's actually effective is overshadowed by all the hubbub that's attached itself to the movie for better or worse. In fact the movie is all of these things — but that's actually not a compliment. What could have become somethingmemorable is jaw-droppingly bad (when it's not hilarious). Director Lee Daniels uses a few different visual styles throughout from a stark black and white palette for a crime scene recreation at the beginning to a '70s porno aesthetic that oscillates between psychedelic and straight-up sweaty with an emphasis on Efron's tighty-whiteys. This only enhances the sloppiness of the script which uses lines like narrator/housekeeper/nanny Anita's (Macy Gray) "You ain't tired enough to be retired " to conjure up the down-home wisdom of the South. Despite Gray's musical talents she is not a good choice for a narrator or an actor for that matter. In a way — insofar as they're perhaps the only female characters given a chunk of screen time — her foil is Charlotte Bless Nicole Kidman's character. Anita is the mother figure who wears as we see in an early scene control-top pantyhose whereas Charlotte is all clam diggers and Barbie doll make-up. Or as Anita puts it "an oversexed Barbie doll."
The slapdash plot is that Jack's older brother Ward (Matthew McConaughey) comes back to town with his colleague Yardley (David Oyelowo) to investigate the case of a death row criminal named Hillary Van Wetter. Yardley is black and British which seems to confuse many of the people he meets in this backwoods town. Hillary (John Cusack) hidden under a mop of greasy black hair) is a slack-jawed yokel who could care less if he's going to be killed for a crime he might or might not have committed. He is way more interested in his bride-to-be Charlotte who has fallen in love with him through letters — this is her thing apparently writing letters and falling in love with inmates — and has rushed to help Ward and Yardley free her man. In the meantime we're subjected to at least one simulated sex scene that will haunt your dreams forever. Besides Hillary's shortcomings as a character that could rustle up any sort of empathy the case itself is so boring it begs the question why a respected journalist would be interested enough to pursue it.
The rest of the movie is filled with longing an attempt to place any the story in some sort of social context via class and race even more Zac Efron's underwear sexual violence alligator innards swamp people in comically ramshackle homes and a glimpse of one glistening McConaughey 'tock. Harmony Korine called and he wants his Gummo back.
It's probably tantalizing for this cast to take on "serious" "edgy" work by an Oscar-nominated director. Cusack ditched his boombox blasting "In Your Eyes" long ago and Efron's been trying to shed his squeaky clean image for so long that he finally dropped a condom on the red carpet for The Lorax so we'd know he's not smooth like a Ken doll despite how he was filmed by Daniels. On the other hand Nicole Kidman has been making interesting and varied career choices for years so it's confounding why she'd be interested in a one-dimensional character like Charlotte. McConaughey's on a roll and like the rest of the cast he's got plenty of interesting projects worth watching so this probably won't slow him down. Even Daniels is already shooting a new film The Butler as we can see from Oprah's dazzling Instagram feed. It's as if they all want to put The Paperboy behind them as soon as possible. It's hard to blame them.

Back in June, the stellar third season of Louie opened up with an episode titled "Something Is Wrong". And something was wrong, something has been wrong with our flawed hero throughout most of the season. Louie (played by the Emmy-poised Louis C.K.) has been wanting and hoping to connect all season. Be it with a lover (parts 1 and 2 of "Daddy's Girlfriend") or a friend (the poignant "Miami") or with himself (as evident with his midlife motorcycle meltdown in "Something Is Wrong"), Louie has been looking for something bigger than himself.
When the "Late Show" saga started, Louie was skeptical and nervous. All of his looming insecurities and unfair bouts of s**t luck put Louie's most dangerous obstacle in front of him once again: himself. But, against all odds, and with some not-so-gentle nudging from his ex-wife, Louie pushed through. He made it to "Late Show: Part 3", the penultimate episode of Season 3. The devastatingly great episode was all about lessons. Lessons in life and in disappointment and in starting all over again. But it wasn't just about Louie learning lessons (though he certainly walked away with some big ones) it was about him teaching them to his wonderful daughters Lilly and Jane (the tremendously talented Hadley Delany and Ursula Parker). Everything Louie does is for his girls, they're the reason why he pushed himself to really try for The Late Show with David Letterman gig. Louie teaches his girls something every time they're together; in "Late Show: Part 3" he taught them that you have to try hard and make sacrifices and do things you wouldn't necessarily do. The girls could see it in their father's eyes and his newfound determination to turn from a "fat Daddy" to talk show host, that he wanted his job. Not just for him, but for them. But Louie still had to keep climbing, he hadn't reached the peak just yet. He still had to meet with the intimidating, unreadable Jack Dole (the return of the dryly hilarious David Lynch, who had one of the best lines all season with "Here's the thing with that champ…that's short for champion") and Jack Dole's intimidating, unreadable hair. Jack wondered when Louie, who he thought was a newsman on par with Tom Snyder or Ted Koppel, was going to be funny. In fact, he asked him in the most devastatingly straight-forward way possible, "Have you ever had experience being funny?" After Louie cried that he wasn't the type of comedian that could turn it on on a dime, Jack shot his excuse right down. "You're whatever you have to be to make people laugh… get that belly moving," he told him, before comparing him to a "kid at a talent show with a number on his shirt". It was a comment that cut Louie to his core. Jack may have had him pegged, but he wasn't ready to let his fear get the best of him. Not this time. "This is either a door or a wall for me," he told Jack, and really, himself. Louie always has at least one kick-in-the-gut moment in an episode, but for anyone who has ever hit a major crossroad in their lives, that line didn't just make your heart sink, but your whole being. And in 3…2…1, Louie made it happen. He stepped out of himself and out of his insecurity and went for a laugh, no matter what the cost. "Pencil penis parade," he sang, accompanied by a silly dance and fart noises, making it my second favorite Louie original number after this gem. Was it beneath his sharp comedy style? Of course. But it got him out of his comfort zone and earned him another week of training with Jack. And in 3…2…1, Lynch earned the funniest moment of the night, when, completely deadpan, he told Louie's agent, "Please leave this room". The next week with Jack, Louie learned what it was like to sit at the host's desks, conduct an interview (albeit a disastrous one with a cleaning lady named Elaine who he made cry) and continue to get his ass kicked at the boxing gym. But Jack's giant-haired bizarro-world Mr. Miayagi was working on Louie. Louie practiced in front of the camera and put on a suit and just wanted get this damn thing right the night before his test show. And the minute doubt set it (well, a string of gloriously hilarious expletives, anyway) his girls showed up, as if on cue, in a moment he needed them most. Showing up unexpectedly at his door, his ex-wife explained that his girls insisted they see him the night before his big day. Louie is undoubtedly a show that taps into the psyche of cynics but if the moment in which Lilly and Jane handed their father encouraging paintings they made for him didn't make you as misty-eyed Louie, you're not a cynic, you're just plain cold. In fact, any and all cynicism went right out the door for the conclusion of the "Late Show" trilogy. By the time Louie got to the day of his test show, there was only overwhelming hope and faith that our hero would pull through. After receiving a suit, encouragement ("You're a good guy…I hope you get it") and the three rules of show business from Jack, which were "1. Look 'em in the eye and speak from the heart, 2. You gotta go away to come back, and 3. If someone asks you to keep a secret their secret is a lie" Louie was as ready as he'd ever be. That was until Jerry Seinfeld (hey, we wouldn't lie to you about that sort of thing) came in to tell him that the Letterman job was a done deal, he had already signed the contract. CBS was still making him do this as a negotiation tactic, that they were simply putting on a show to put on a show. The news clearly gutted Louie, who saw a future for himself and his daughters disappear right before his eyes. Then, a saving grace. "Keep it a secret, nobody knows about this yet" Seinfeld told his friend with a knowing glint in his eye. Louie knew he wasn't out of the running just yet, so he went out there and gave it his all. And the weeks of agonizing and doubt and practice paid off as Louie put on one hell of show. He was a natural, from a fast and loose opening monologue to funny and sincere interviews with guests Susan Sarandon and Paul Rudd. Louie was born to do this. When they cut to the CBS head (a quick return from guest Garry Marshall) telling someone over the phone "I got an option" hope was still beating out cynicism. Even Louie looked as hopeful as ever, a few hours later at the bar to celebrate, despite being surrounded by his cynical comedy buddies (played by Louis C.K.'s real life stand up comedy cohorts Jim Norton, Todd Barry, and Nick DiPaolo) and his perpetually nervous-looking agent Doug. The five men then watched with baited breath as Maria Menounous announced on TV that Letterman's Late Show gig would go to…David Letterman. The Late Show host would stay at his post for another decade. Doug informed Louie that he was used as nothing more than a pawn to get Letterman's asking price down from $60 million to $14 million. That taking money out of Letterman's pocket ensured he'd never come close to that show again. The moment that followed was an all too familiar scene for Louie. A deflated-looking Louie walked the unforgiving streets of Manhattan wondering how he got here. Louie found himself right in front of the Ed Sullivan theater, home of The Late Show. A pensive Louie looked up at the marquee, a shining symbol of a terrible lesson learned, cursed Letterman's name and vicariously cried, "I did it!" He did do it in his own way, really. He didn't go out sulking or running to the bodega to buy a pint of ice cream like old Louie would have done, he'd come too far and turned a page. He didn't get Letterman's coveted post and he learned that even in our greatest disappointments, if you gave it your all and put your heart into it, it couldn't be considered a failure at all. And what better lesson could Louie have taught his children than that? As far as bittersweet episodes of Louie go, this one was about as sweet as they come. While it was devastating to watch Louie's dream slip away from him, this won't be a wall for our hero as he feared it might be. Louie has been looking to turn a corner all season and he's finally there. The finale act of "Late Show" was three strongest of three, not to mention one of the strongest of Season 3 — and the entire series — as a whole. [Photo credit: FX] More: Louie Recap: Louie Will Do Anything For Lynch, But He Won't Wear a Suit Louie Recap: Better Late Night Than NeverEmmys Idle Threats: Give Louis C.K. an Emmy or I'll Make You Babysit Never

Television fans are a unique set. We're the type of people who devote hours upon hours a week to our fictional, televised friends. We laugh at their jokes and cry when they cry because our favorite shows are just so darn good. But the intensity of the laughter and the tears is all thanks to the fact that we regard these characters as something of a family. We know them. We understand them. We love them unconditionally. And actors deserve recognition for being able to elicit that level of a reaction from their fans. Naturally, when they're not given their due, we're forced to react, well, emotionally. How, exactly, will we react? That depends on the actor in question.Next up is the funniest Vice President ever to grace the small screen: Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Fourteen years after the end of Seinfeld, people still talk about the "Seinfeld Curse," the otherworldly force that prevents any castmember from the long-running sitcom from ever succeeding again. Michael Richards only made it seven episodes into The Michael Richards Show. Jason Alexander's sports-themed Listen Up bowed out after one season. Jerry Seinfeld's Marriage Ref... well, let's not even go there. Then there's Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who starred in five seasons and 188 episodes of The New Adventures of Old Christine and is still under the cloud of critics barking about the "Seinfeld Curse." The real stipulation is even stricter than one might have imagined: a Seinfeld player's new show has to be on par with Seinfeld.
Hope was all but lost until HBO's Veep, a ferocious comedy that miraculously kept Louis-Dreyfus post-Seinfeld momentum going. The network-friendly humor of New Adventures (that was still above and beyond its contemporaries thanks to Louis-Dreyfus' lively persona) is nowhere to be found in Veep, an off-the-cuff, raunchy workplace comedy from Armando Iannucci, the writer/director behind the political satire In the Loop. If Seinfeld dabbled in dark humor, Veep is pitch black. There's no topic or jab too aberrant for the writers of Veep. And Louis-Dreyfus always plays ball. The show is a curse-breaker, but only because the actress owns it.
What separates Louis-Dreyfus from every other TV actress on screen is that her vice president persona, Selina Meyer, is basically unlikable. That's the stress of the job taking over combined with her own insecurities. Meyer is a failed presidential candidate; has been completely closed out of the loop from the sitting president, and is surrounded by staff of complete imbeciles (who are merely knuckleheads serving the government equivalent of a chicken with its head cut off). We can understand why Selina acts the way she does at times — who wouldn't feel a little emotionally distraught if the career-breakig endorsement you're chasing continues to flip flop? — but often we're cringing (and laughing) as Selina's attempts to dictate orders and show confidence.
With her gravitas for physical humor and willingness to skim the line of all out bitchery, Louis-Dreyfus has crafted a daring character on Veep that you simply won't find elsewhere. She does show shades of compassion: her ongoing secret relationship with political staffer Ted opens the door for adorable flirting. But in true Veep fashion, those moments can often be followed by jaw-dropping flippancy. One episode caps with Selina learning she's pregnant. The epic life moment is nixed by the opening of the next episode, Selina her informing her staff she's had a miscarriage ("I mean, it was like a heavy period.”). That's not an easy bit to make funny.
Louis-Dreyfus has some heavy competition, with returning nominees (Amy Poehler, Edie Falco), winners (Tina Fey, Melissa McCarthy) and beloved new faces (Zooey Deschanel, Lena Dunham). But, please, Emmy voters. Let's make it clear once and for all that the "Seinfeld Curse" has been dispelled by a truly audacious performance. Because if you don't, I'm going to have to stage a hunger strike protest on the lawn of the White House.
Don't ask me how I'm going to get on the lawn of the White House and survive for more than a few minutes — I just will. Because it's important. Also don't ask me why I'm deciding to protest on the White House lawn instead of the United States Naval Observatory lawn where the vice president actually lives. I need coverage. I'm thinking like a real advocate. When I'm staging my protest in the name of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, I'll be sure to use every trick in the Veep book. I'll land myself airtime on all the major 24-news channels; I'll vaguely side with every vocal lobbyist group to gain more traction (but, of course, backstab them last minute for my own agenda). I'm for Obama and Romney when it comes to my protest — whatever gets Louis-Dreyfus that statue. And no, I'm not bathing or shaving. If you don't grant the Veep star a win, Emmy voters, you'll be staring at a modern version of Tom Cruise's Born on the Fourth of July character for as long as my Cheetos supply will last. That's a long time. Vote Julia Louis-Dreyfus for Best Actress in a Comedy. She's the candidate you deserve.
[Photo Credit: HBO]
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
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If there's one bit of advice we can take away from Kristen Stewart's tryst with Rupert Sanders it's, "Don't cheat on your boyfriend just before you release a movie together." Stewart's affair was a lot of things — unprofessional, inappropriate, illegal (adultery is still a crime in many states, you know) — but topping the list may be "poorly timed."
Seeing an ex after a messy breakup is never pleasant, but being forced to sit on press panel after press panel with said former flame sounds like the worst. With The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 set to hit theaters this November, that is exactly what Stewart and jilted ex-lover Robert Pattinson have to look forward to. While on the red carpet for the Toronto International Film Festival's premiere of her new film On the Road on Saturday, Stewart gave fans the first hint at what they can expect from Breaking Dawn's press tour.
Stewart revealed to reporters on Thursday that she was suffering from a little Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder (yep, I made that up) before hitting the On the Road red carpet, the Associated Press reports. "I was a little nervous, obviously. I'm always nervous before a red carpet," Stewart said. "To be honest, I was just kind of telling myself, like, just don't black out. Be there, don't just figuratively put your head down and barrel though it. Be there, appreciate it. Luckily, very, very much I was able to do that."
Reading between the lines a little bit, Stewart seems to be talking about more than her usual social anxiety. This carpet was her first public appearance since the news of her split with Pattinson broke, so we're betting there was even more pressure on Stewart than usual to appear calm and collected. Luckily, Twihards flocked to the theater in droves to show their support for Stewart. "She may be a trampire, but she's our trampire!" They said. (Well, not really; I'm projecting). Stewart was grateful for the massive showing. "You expect a lot of people at a Twilight premiere, but showing up at an On the Road Toronto film festival screening and seeing that amount of people is absolutely, disarmingly amazing," Stewart said. "It felt pretty cool."
But all cool things must come to an end. As is to be expected, reporters had to ask Stewart about the impending awkwardness that is the Breaking Dawn press junket. According to the AP, she said, "We're going to be fine … We're totally fine." Eh, sounds like wishful thinking.
Since we think Stewart is in total denial and that there is no way in the realm of human possibility everything will be "fine," here are our suggestions for making things work come Breaking Dawn press time.
Get a Hologram: The best way to avoid any discomfort would be to make sure Stewart and Pattinson never step foot in the same room. So, we recommend hitting up the people who raised Tupac from the dead and getting them to whip up a holograms of Stewart and Pattinson. Their answers to the questions we know will be asked can be preprogramed; we all know nothing surprising comes from these press conferences anyway.
Skype: Okay, so holograms are expensive. Instead, Stewart and Pattinson could alternate Skyping into the interviews. This way they wouldn't have to breathe the same air.
Employ a Mediator: Like in couples counseling, Pattinson and Stewart could enlist the help of a mediator. This way, if Pattinson slips up and says, "Kristen is a floozy who tore my heart out of my chest and stomped all over it," there will be someone to step in and say, "What he means is, 'Kristen made me feel sad when she didn't honor our taciturn agreement that ours was a monogamous relationship.'"
Wear Sensory Deprivator 500s: When Ted wanted to avoid learning the Super Bowl's outcome on How I Met Your Mother he invented the world's most effective blinders. Pattinson and Stewart should each get a pair; it'd be like the other person wasn't even there.
Follow Abbey Stone on Twitter @abbeystone
[Photo Credit: WENN]
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After a three-year engagement, The Avengers' Cobie Smulders married SNL actor Taran Killam in California on Saturday.
According to People.com, the couple — who have been dating for eight years, and have a three-year-old daughter together — tied the knot at the Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort in the town of Solvang. Smulders' How I Met Your Mother costars Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris were among the 300 guests who witnessed the quick 15 minute ceremony. After which partygoers were taken to the lakeside reception by hay ride. The cost to rent the place for the night? $43,000.
Good thing the couple both return to work later this month: the new season of SNL airs on Sept. 15, and season 8 of HIMYM premieres Sept. 24. Sounds like they've already spent those paychecks!
[Photo Credit: WENN.com]
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There is something particularly unnerving about demon possession. It's the idea of something you can't see or control creeping into your body and taking up residence eventually obliterating all you once were and turning you into nothing more than a sack of meat to be manipulated. Then there's also the shrouded ritual around exorcisms: the Latin chants the flesh-sizzling crucifixes and the burning Holy Water. As it turns out exorcism isn't just the domain of Catholics.
The myths and legends of the Jews aren't nearly as well known but their creepy dybbuk goes toe-to-toe with anything other world religions come up with. There are various interpretations of what a dybbuk is or where it comes from — is it a ghost a demon a soul of a sinner? — but in any case it's looking for a body to hang out in for a while. Especially according to the solemn Hasidic Jews in The Possession an innocent young person and even better a young girl.
The central idea in The Possession is that a fancy-looking wooden box bought at a garage sale was specifically created to house a dybbuk that was tormenting its previous owner. Unfortunately it caught the eye of young Emily (Natasha Calis) a sensitive artistic girl who persuades her freshly divorced dad Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan of Watchmen and Grey's Anatomy) to buy it for her. Never mind the odd carvings on it — that would be Hebrew — or how it's created without seams so it would be difficult to open or why it's an object of fascination for a young girl; Clyde is trying really hard to please his disaffected daughters and do the typical freshly divorced parent dance of trying to please them no matter the cost.
Soon enough the creepy voices calling to Emily from the box convince her to open it up; inside are even creepier personal objects that are just harbingers of what's to come for her her older sister Hannah (Madison Davenport) her mom Stephanie (Kyra Sedgwick) and even Stephanie's annoying new boyfriend Brett (Grant Show). Clyde and Stephanie squabble over things like pizza for dinner and try to convince each other and themselves that Emily's increasingly odd behavior is that of a troubled adolescent. It's not of course and eventually Clyde enlists the help of the son of a Hasidic rabbi a young man named Tzadok played by the former Hasidic reggae musician Matisyahu to help them perform an exorcism on Emily.
The Possession is not going to join the ranks of The Exorcist in the horror pantheon but it does do a remarkable job of making its characters intelligent and even occasionally droll and it offers up plenty of chills despite a PG-13 rating. Perhaps it's because of that rating that The Possession is so effective; the filmmakers are forced to make the benign scary. Giant moths and flying Torahs take the place of little Reagan violently masturbating with a crucifix in The Exorcist. Gagging and binging on food is also an indicator of Emily's possession — an interesting twist given the anxieties of becoming a woman a girl Emily's age would face. There is something inside her controlling her and she knows it and she is fighting it. The most impressive part of Calis's performance is how she communicates Emily's torment with a few simple tears rolling down her face as the dybbuk's control grows. The camerawork adds to the anxiety; one particularly scary scene uses ordinary glass kitchenware to great effect.
The Possession is a short 92 minutes and it does dawdle in places. It seems as though some of the scenes were juggled around to make the PG-13 cut; the moth infestation scene would have made more sense later in the movie. Some of the problems are solved too quickly or simply and yet it also takes a while for Clyde's character to get with it. Stephanie is a fairly bland character; she makes jewelry and yells at Clyde for not being present in their marriage a lot and then there's a thing with a restraining order that's pretty silly. Emily is occasionally dressed up like your typical horror movie spooky girl with shadowed eyes an over-powdered face and dark clothes; it's much more disturbing when she just looks like an ordinary though ill young girl. The scenes in the heavily Hasidic neighborhood in Brooklyn look oddly fake and while it's hard to think of who else could have played Tzadok an observant Hasidic Jew who is also an outsider willing to take risks the others will not Matisyahu is not a very good actor. Still the filmmakers should be commended for authenticity insofar as Matisyahu has studied and lived as a Hasidic Jew.
It would be cool if Lionsgate and Ghost House Pictures were to release the R-rated version of the movie on DVD. What the filmmakers have done within the confines of a PG-13 rating is creepy enough to make me curious to see the more adult version. The Possession is no horror superstar and its name is all too forgettable in a summer full of long-gestating horror movies quickly pushed out the door. It's entertaining enough and could even find a broader audience on DVD. Jeffrey Dean Morgan can read the Old Testament to me any time.

There's an allure to imperfection. With his latest drama Lawless director John Hillcoat taps directly into the side of human nature that draws us to it. Hillcoat finds it in Prohibition history a time when the regulations of alcohol consumption were subverted by most of the population; He finds it in the rural landscapes of Virginia: dingy raw and mesmerizing. And most importantly he finds it in his main character Jack Bondurant (Shia LaBeouf) the scrappy third brother of a moonshining family who is desperate to prove his worth. Jack forcefully injects himself into the family business only to discover there's an underbelly to the underbelly. Lawless is a beautiful film that's violent as hell striking in a way only unfiltered Americana could be.
Acting as the driver for his two outlaw brothers Forrest (Tom Hardy) and Howard (Jason Clarke) isn't enough for Jack. He's enticed by the power of the gangster figure and entranced by what moonshine money can buy. So like any fledgling entrepreneur Jack takes matters into his own hands. Recruiting crippled family friend/distillery mastermind Cricket (Dane DeHaan) the young whippersnapper sets out to brew his own batch sell it to top dog Floyd Banner and make the family rich. The plan works — but it puts the Bondurant boys in over their heads with a new threat: the corrupt law enforcers of Chicago.
Unlike many stories of crime life Lawless isn't about escalation. The movie drifts back and forth leisurely popping in moments like the beats of a great TV episode. One second the Bondurants could be talking shop with their female shopkeep Maggie Beauford (Jessica Chastain). The next Forrest is beating the bloody pulp out of a cop blackmailing their operation. The plot isn't thick; Hillcoat and screenwriter Nick Cave preferring to bask in the landscapes the quiet moments the haunting terror that comes with a life on the other side of the tracks. A feature film doesn't offer enough time for Lawless to build — it recalls cinema-level TV currently playing on outlets like HBO and AMC that have truly spoiled us — but what the duo accomplish is engrossing.
Accompanying the glowing visuals and Cave's knockout workout on the music side (a toe-tapping mix of spirituals bluegrass and the writer/musician's spine-tingling violin) are muted performances from some of Hollywood's rising stars. Despite LaBeouf's off-screen antics he lights up Lawless and nails the in-deep whippersnapper. His playful relationship with a local religious girl (Mia Wasikowska) solidifies him as a leading man but like everything in the movie you want more. Tom Hardy is one of the few performers who can "uurrr" and "mmmnerm" his way through a scene and come out on top. His greatest sparring partner isn't a hulking thug but Chastain who brings out the heart of the impenetrable beast. The real gem of Lawless is Guy Pearce as the Bondurant trio's biggest threat. Shaved eyebrows pristine city clothes and a temper like a rabid wolverine Pearce's Charlie Rakes is the most frightening villain of 2012. He viciously chews up every moment he's on screen. That's even before he starts drawing blood.
Lawless is the perfect movie for the late August haze — not quite the Oscary prestige picture or the summertime shoot-'em-up. It's drama that has its moonshine and swigs it too. Just don't drink too much.
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Jon Turteltaub, who directed Disney's National Treasure as well as '90s favorites Cool Runnings and 3 Ninjas, has been brought on board to help develop Fox 2000's Beached, The Hollywood Reporter reports. Beached will tell the tale of a chubby four-year-old who falls overboard into the sea during a family outing and is raised by whales. After an aqueous childhood, he/she/it goes on to become an Olympic swimmer. It's Ryan Lochte like we've never seen him before! That part's a joke, the rest is not.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this whale of a tale has been in development since 1997 and was originally written by Ted Griffin, the writer of Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven. Now Turteltaub will oversee the writing of a new draft and direct the film.
While we know that Beached's plot is basically The Jungle Book in the ocean — with the extra added dose of Olympic awesomeness — we don't know what the tone will be. Looking back, there are a number of whale movies from which Beached could draw inspiration.
Big Miracle: Billed as a "true story," this live-action version of Beached would be three parts inspiration and one part perspiration, with an unexpected political undercurrent.
Whale Rider: This would be a highly realistic, yet semi-mystical take on the story. The rescued toddler's relationship with the whales would be allegorical for the power of the human spirit. A happy ending is not guaranteed.
Free Willy: Following in Free Willy's footsteps, Beached would be a feel-good family tale. Viewers would decide to suspend their belief in order to root for our unlikely hero who will ultimately triumph against all odds.
Pinocchio: Maybe the best way to tackle this story is through animation. And, with the Pinocchio whale as the model, our protagonist would live inside of the whale.
Finding Nemo: With Pixar at the helm, Beached would be a whimsical comedy, filled with fast-talking characters and plenty of charm.
Planet Earth: How about Beached as a nature documentary? Of course, to accomplish this, one would have to actually strand a child in the middle of the ocean and hope that a friendly pod of whales comes along to nurture said child. Actually, this sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Follow Abbey Stone on Twitter @abbeystone
[Photo Credit: WENN]
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The first five episodes of Breaking Bad's fifth season have left viewers scraping their jaws off the floor. It's one explosion (sometimes literally) after another as Walter White settles into his position as New Mexico's new crystal meth kingpin.
Some of this season's most powerful scenes, however, focus not on Walt, but on Walt's wife, Skyler — played brilliantly by Anna Gunn. Thanks to her Emmy-nominated performance, Gunn's Skyler is far more than either a trapped housewife or reluctant criminal. Hollywood.com spoke with Gunn about her meltdown at the carwash, how she lightens the mood on set, and some of Skyler's very own Heisenberg tendencies.
[SPOILER ALERT: This interview reveals key plot points to aired episodes of Season 5 of Breaking Bad]
Hollywood.com: This season of Breaking Bad has started out really intensely right away. And from Skyler especially we've gotten to see a lot more range. I wanted to talk to you about how you prepared to play this side of Skyler — where she is so clearly terrified of Walt. And also, of course, your epic meltdown with Marie.
Anna Gunn: Yeah, that was so incredible. It's been really wonderful to play because I felt like Skyler has essentially just held on to her emotions and held onto herself so tightly for all these seasons. It's been since she found out even that Walt was ill, and then certainly everything else she's found out. And she's somebody who's tried to deal with everything in a way. She always says, "Okay, this is not good, but what can I do? What action can I take? What can I do?" And Skyler's thing has always been to try to control things through action. And now she's really realized she has no control. This is an uncontrollable situation and no turn she's taken, no move she's made, has made any difference, she feels. And so I think she feels really backed into a corner and held hostage by Walt and put in a position that's just completely impossible for her. She's become a villain to her son, which is probably the most painful thing about the entire situation, but she's taken it on to protect him. And I think she's gone through, in her own mind, every possibility. Should I go to the police? Should I run away? Should I take the kids? What should I do? And she's just been turning it over and over and over and now there's nowhere, I think, she feels for her to turn.
And that's why the kettle has just been boiling and boiling. With that scene with Marie, the lid finally pops off, and all that stuff that she's been keeping inside just explodes out of her. And I think the shock of it, and the pain of it — which is why it was, I think, such a beautifully written moment— just explodes in anger with that "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" and then just the realization of, "Oh my god," and then the pain also just tumbling out of her. Because she's kept that all really really tightly inside of herself. Even, I think, in private. Which is why the audience never really saw a moment where Skyler went into a bathroom and closed the door and sat down and just dissolved into tears. Because I think had she done that she feared she would never get up from the floor. And so it's always been about putting one foot in front of the other and continuing on and this season starts out with her in a state of utter despair. And there's depression and it was very heavy, very intense.
How did you prepare to go into filming that scene with Betsy Brandt (Marie)? Where was your mind?
Sometimes it's just, the show is so beautifully written and the material is so rich that part of it is just the imagination getting really active. I know Skyler, and I've lived in her skin for so long that her journey feels like my journey, and they're sort of enmeshed. So the pain that's been building up is just something that has been happening through acting the last four seasons of this show. So essentially it was very, not easy emotionally, but logic-wise it was easy to find my way into that. And then it just, it just… There are some parallels that you draw sometimes between your own life and the character. But with material that's this good—it's like, when the writing is this good it does a lot of the work for you as an actor, it really does. Bryan said once, "Actors are only as good as the material that we're given, and we're just blessed with phenomenal material." If you give yourself over to it it kind of takes you on the journey.
Another scene I wanted to ask you about that intrigues me, personally, is that scene where Skyler goes to visit Ted in the hospital. For me, it really seemed like a turning point, where she realized for the first time that people were afraid of her and that's how deep in everything she is. I was wondering if you saw it that way, or just what your thoughts about that scene were.
Yeah, I think absolutely that when she goes into the hospital she's just terrified of what she's going to find. Then she comes in the room and she couldn't have imagined seeing him in that state, in that apparatus, looking like he's at death's door. I think the guilt that just hits her is like a tsunami and it just knocks her over. And then she realizes, as he continues to say, "I'm not going to tell anybody," that there is—The writers and the director and I discussed that Skyler has these moments along the way that are much like Walt's Heisenberg moments. The beginnings of it, where the sense of empowerment is all of a sudden kind of activated and it's brand new and there's something kind of seductive and heady about it. And at the same time that she's feeling really tremendous guilt and remorse, theres another sense of, "Yeah, I told you." It's a little bit of, "I told you, I told you to take care of this and you didn't."
And it's also, again, about control. She's felt like she's been so unable to control things and she's been a pawn and she's had to do all of this stuff that Walt's really made her do, and — it's so complicated! There's a sense of, now somebody knows what it feels like to be in the position I've been put in. There's that sense of, "I told you to take care of this, and I didn't mean for this to happen, but this is what happened." And it's such a complex moment and that's what's great, again, about what the writers do with this show; every character is so complex. Nobody's all good or bad, and nobody's all light or dark. Every human being has so many different aspects and facets to them. And there can be something noble and something really dark and dangerous going on in a person all at the same time. And that's what was so great about that scene, that it was so many layers at the same time.
Like you said, so much of the show is dark and serious. Are there things that you try to do or you try to do with the other cast members to keep things light?
We joke around a lot. It's a very funny cast. Every single person really is very, very funny, and that helps a lot. And Bryan and I especially have those long, dark, intense scenes, and he is one of the funniest people I've ever met. There are times in between takes where emotionally we both need to kind of stay in the [dark] place and the head space. But there are also so many times when you just need the relief of a conversation, or laughter, or pulling a practical joke, or something like that. And so that happens a lot, and I don't know how we would do it without that. I really don't. So it's great to have that relief. And, like I say, I just sit and am the happy recipient of Bryan [Cranston]'s wit.
With the end of Breaking Bad looming, what do think or hope will happen for the White family at the end of it all?
Well, I have my, Anna's, sort of romantic notion of what I would like to see happen, which of course would be, is there a way for them to somehow extricate themselves from this whole thing. And for Walt and Skyler to somehow find their way back to each other and for the family to be out of danger and okay and whole again. That's a very idealistic, romantic notion to have and probably completely unrealistic.
I never try to guess what's going to come, what's going to happen, because I'm constantly surprised by the twists and turns that Vince [Gilligan] takes in the story. So truly I have no idea what's coming. And that's really kind of exciting, because anything could happen. I sense that it's not going to be a nice picture at the end. Especially for Walt, yeah. One has the sense that it's just not going to end up pretty. But again, they've just taken so many twists and turns with the story as it's gone along that things happen out of the blue, and who knows. It could be anything! So I'm just as excited as any audience member or viewer; I'm kind of on the edge of my seat with it. It's going to be a wild ride, I'm sure.
Follow Abbey Stone on Twitter @abbeystone
[Photo Credit: Ursula Coyote/AMC]
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